Review of RRS Discovery

RRS Discovery is a 2013-launched ice-strengthened research vessel serving as oceanographic survey ship homeported in Southampton (England UK). Its sister-ship (with the same design) is RRS James Cook (launched in 2007). RRS stands for "Royal Research Ship".

Royal research ships are the UK's merchant navy vessels conducting scientific research for the British Government (HMG). The list of organisations that are allowed to operate RRS vessels includes NERC (abbrev "Natural Environment Research Council"), BAS (abbrev "British Antarctic Survey") and NOC (abbrev "National Oceanography Centre"). However, a warrant from the British monarch is required a vessel to be designated as RRS. The UK's current fleet of Royal Research Ships includes the follwoing vessels (the year built in brackets): RRS James Clark Ross (1990), RRS Ernest Shackleton (1995), RRS James Cook (2007, sister-ship), RRS Discovery (2013) and RRS Sir David Attenborough (2019).

This British research vessel is operated by the UK government agency NERC (abbrev from "Natural Environment Research Council"). The vessel is the 3rd named "RRS Discovery" - following the same-named ships launched in 1901 (wooden 3-masted Antarctic research ship), 1929 (Antarctica-based hydrographical and marine biological survey ship) and 1962 (until 2006 - UK's largest oceanographic research ship, decommissioned in 2012). All these vessels were named after the 1901 wooden ship used during the Discovery Expedition (1901-1904) by Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) - a British Navy officer and Antarctic explorer.

RRS Discovery vessel details

This research ship features an ice-strengthened double hull and containerized labs that can be equipped depending on the nature of scientific activities on each cruise. The ship also has an advanced hydroacoustic system consisting of 2 echosounders plus 1 hydrophone (on the keel) and can operate one ISIS ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle / robotic submarine) with max working load 4,5 tons.

Propulsion is diesel-electric and provided by two Azimuth Thrusters (each with 5-bladed fixed pitch propellers). One is retractable (forward, power output 1350 kW) and the other is Tees White Gill (360-degree bow thruster, power output 1700 kW).

Displacement tonnage: 6260 tons

Deadweight tonnage: 2004 tons

Max Draught: 6,6 m (22 ft) fully loaded

Ice-class: 1D (ice-strengthened bow)

Endurance: 50 days

Capacity: 52 passengers and crew

The ship has no helipad and can't serve helicopters.

Note: In case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.

RRS Discovery wiki

RRS Discovery was built by the Spanish shipbuilder "Construcciones Navales Paulino Freire" (CNPF) at the Freire Shipyard in Bouzas (Vigo Spain). The shipbuilding company specializes in ship design, construction, refit (transformation) and repairs of steel hulled vessels with LOA length up to 155 m (508 ft).